When we talk about “the hospital story,” we often think about it in aggregate, the one that yields huge statewide numbers and powerful data:
- 1.2 million — Jobs in California because of hospital employment
- $268 billion — Hospitals’ statewide contribution to California’s economy
- $20 billion — California hospitals’ contribution each year to support vulnerable populations, such as children, seniors and low-income residents
- More than 500,000 — Babies welcomed to the world every year in California hospitals
- 16 million — Visits to hospital emergency departments each year
But, of course, there’s much more to the story than that — the part that cannot be quantified but that generates infinite value for all Californians.
Because this week is National Hospital Week, CHA has taken to the digital airwaves to celebrate as broadly as possible the multi-faceted, rich, and human narrative that is the hospital story.
It’s the story of last year’s wildfires, when hospital heroes across the state demonstrated their dedication to saving lives under the most treacherous and trying (often personally so) circumstances. In so doing, they ultimately reassured an entire state that, when disaster strikes, hospitals and the people who work in them will help us through.
It’s the story of commitment to patient safety that sets California apart. Our state ranks first in keeping mothers safe during childbirth, and across the state hospitals continue their collaboration in this area to address racial disparities in maternal care.
There are myriad individual hospital stories, too — stories of hospitals touching lives outside their walls to care for people where and how they need it most: mobile health clinics for the uninsured and underinsured, free patient transportation, food baskets, summer and after-school programs for kids, and the long list of other programs you offer to improve the health and well-being of those in your backyards.
California’s hospitals and health systems play a wholly unique role in our communities and in our society. Tag us in your National Hospital Week tweets — using @CalHospitals — about the amazing things you are doing in your hospital and in your community, and we’ll retweet to let the world know about the good you do every day.
CHA is honored, during National Hospital Week and every week, to elevate and amplify your essential place in our lives.
– Carmela